1 Samuel 3:1-20
The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions. 2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel answered, "Here I am." 5 And he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." But Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." So he went and lay down. 6 Again the LORD called, "Samuel!" And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." "My son," Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD: The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. 8 The LORD called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ’Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’" So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." 11 And the LORD said to Samuel: "See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. 12 At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family-- from beginning to end. 13 For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons made themselves contemptible, and he failed to restrain them. 14 Therefore, I swore to the house of Eli, ’The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’" 15 Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the LORD. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, 16 but Eli called him and said, "Samuel, my son." Samuel answered, "Here I am." 17 "What was it he said to you?" Eli asked. "Do not hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you hide from me anything he told you." 18 So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, "He is the LORD; let him do what is good in his eyes." 19 The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the LORD. 21 The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.
“How Many Times Do I Have To Tell You?”
How many times do I have to tell you… the floor is not a hamper? How many times do I have to tell you… to turn the lights off when you leave a room? How many times do I have to tell you… don’t touch MY thermostat? How many times do I have to tell you?
I imagine that God was thinking something along those lines as we has trying to communicate with Samuel. Calling out to Samuel… and Samuel doesn’t listen. Calling out to Samuel… and Samuel doesn’t listen. Calling out to Samuel… and Samuel doesn’t listen. What’s going on here? Is God just not speaking clearly enough? Is Samuel just not listening? How many times… am I going to have to tell you?
Is it in the telling? Is it in the listening? Communication… is such a very delicate thing… isn’t it? It is so easy to get communication all messed up. You know… it is hard to even say the right thing in the right way. Just one word out of place and it might mean the difference between a happy congregation and a mad congregation. Just one letter out of place, and you may say a word you never meant to say. Let’s take… just for example… the top 10 list of misprinted bulletin announcements.
1. Don’t let worry kill you -- let the church help.
2. Thursday night - Potluck supper. Prayer and medication to follow.
3. Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church.
4. For those of you who have children and don’t know it, we have a nursery upstairs.
5. The rosebud on the altar this morning is to announce the birth of David Alan Belzer, the sin of Rev. and Mrs. Julius Belzer.
6. This afternoon there will be a meeting in the South and North ends of the church. Children will be baptized at both ends.
7. Thursday at 5:00 PM there will be a meeting of the Little Mothers Club. All ladies wishing to be "Little Mothers" should meet with the Pastor in his study.
8. This being Easter Sunday, we will ask Mrs. Lewis to come forward and lay an egg on the altar.
9. A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.
10. At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.
We need to be so very careful with what we say and how we say it. But just as much, we need to be just as careful when we listen too. How many of you have been caught jumping ahead of a sentence of your spouse… knowing exactly what they were going to say even before they said it, only to find out… you weren’t listening well… and completely missed the boat. You gotta be careful in the way we listen too. Not only that… you have to be careful to listen for things out there that you might be ignoring.
Back when the telegraph was the fastest method of long-distance communication, a young man applied for a job as a Morse Code operator. Answering an ad in the newspaper, he went to the office address that was listed. When he arrived, he entered a large, busy office filled with noise and clatter, including the sound of the telegraph in the background. A sign on the receptionist’s counter instructed job applicants to fill out a form and wait until they were summoned to enter the inner office.
The young man filled out his form and sat down with the seven other applicants in the waiting area. After a few minutes, the young man stood up, crossed the room to the door of the inner office, and walked right in. Naturally the other applicants perked up, wondering what was going on. They muttered among themselves that they hadn’t heard any summons yet. They assumed that the young man who went into the office made a mistake and would be disqualified.
Within a few minutes, however, the employer escorted the young man out of the office and said to the other applicants, “Gentlemen, thank you very much for coming, but the job has just been filled.”
The other applicants began grumbling to each other, and one spoke up saying, “Wait a minute, I don’t understand. He was the last to come in, and we never even got a chance to be interviewed. Yet he got the job. That’s not fair!”
The employer said, “I’m sorry, but all the time you’ve been sitting here, the telegraph has been ticking out the following message in Morse Code: ‘If you understand this message, then come right in. The job is yours.’ None of you heard it or understood it. This young man did. The job is his.” They weren’t listening… they weren’t listening to the message that was right in front of them the entire time.
In our text today… the entire key to the passage is in listening. Listening to what is always there… waiting to be noticed. Like the message from the telegrapher… just waiting to be heard. The time when this happened in Israel… it was a time of spiritual drought… it felt like God was far far away. It felt like God had abandoned them. But… in the background… God was speaking. God was speaking, and I’m sure he was asking himself… “How many times am I going to have to tell you?” It took Samuel a long time… to finally listen.
In our time… there are many times when we feel like we are in a spiritual desert. Our congregation may feel like we are under tough times. Times in our personal life when we feel like God is far… far… far away. The message today is very very clear. God is speaking. He is speaking to us reminding us who he is.
Samuel… I am your God. I am YOUR God! He reminds us that he is there… even during the droughts. He’s there. Waiting for us to listen. And when we finally hear him, we hear a message of hope. “I have plans for you O’ Israel. I have plans for you. I have plans for this church. News so great, that it will make the ears of everyone who hears it tingle.
And now… if your really listening… its time for you to step up to your calling. That was God’s message for Samuel. That is God’s message for us. Even in dry and weary times… God’s message is I’m here… I have a great message of hope… and it’s time for you to stand up to your call. Just as Jesus called his disciples in our New Testament text today… it is time. God has great news… God has a great plan. The time has come for you to answer your call and follow me.
It is the message we need to remember. It is the message we need to hear. God is hear and he is our God… and he has great great plan for you… great great plans for this church. If only we are willing to listen. How many times is he gonna have to tell us?
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
